The story goes back to yesterday.
Nanase Chitose was leaning against the railing of the overpass across from the elementary school.
Her flaxen hair was loosely tied back with a light blue ribbon, a few stray strands hanging beside her cheeks. Her green pupils gleamed like glass beads under the afternoon sunlight.
She wore a short-sleeved shirt in a muted color, khaki casual pants, and a pair of brown leather shoes that looked well-worn but meticulously maintained.
She looked neat and capable, like an ordinary office worker passing by after getting off work.
Of course, that was only “appearances.”
At this moment, she had a portable telescope pressed to her eye, the lens aimed at the main gate of the elementary school across the street.
She had chosen her position carefully… standing on the pedestrian walkway of the bridge, back against the railing, the distance to the school gate just enough for the telescope to capture every detail clearly.
She kept her head lowered, so passing pedestrians couldn’t see her expression—only the back of her head and a hint of her tucked chin.
Her center of gravity unconsciously tilted forward, her face wearing an overly absorbed, obsessed with smile, her attention completely pinned to the crowd of students pouring out of the school gate.
Passing pedestrians began to walk around her.
A young mother with a stroller, passing by Nanase Chitose, visibly quickened her pace, pushed the stroller’s canopy down, and hurried off without looking back.
A middle-aged man with a briefcase frowned as he passed, glanced back at her once, then again, then pulled out his phone, his expression turning serious.
Nanase Chitose noticed none of this.
She was entirely focused, tracking a small running figure through the telescope, muttering to herself.
Nanase Chitose was completely immersed in her own world, a sticky smile spreading back across her face as she raised the telescope and continued scanning the crowd at the school gate.
By now, two people in uniform had quietly appeared behind her.
A police car was parked below the bridge, its lights off, just silently waiting, as if biding its time.
One police officer looked down at the citizen report on his phone, then looked up at this suspicious person leaning on the bridge railing, aiming a telescope at the elementary school gate and muttering to herself. He exchanged a glance with his partner.
That glance said.
This report hadn’t exaggerated a single word.
The partner stepped forward, stopped behind Nanase Chitose, and cleared his throat.
“Ma’am.”
Nanase Chitose didn’t react.
She was still tracking a small figure through the telescope.
“Ma’am, hello.”
The partner raised his voice a little.
Nanase Chitose let out an “Huh?” and waved her hand impatiently, eyes still glued to the telescope.
“Could… could you please show us your ID Card?”
The other police officer bent slightly, speaking in a cautious but polite tone.
That question finally snapped Nanase Chitose back to reality.
She lowered the telescope from her eye and blinked.
Then she saw two police officers in uniform standing before her, expressions serious, gazes wary.
“Huh?”
Nanase Chitose looked down at the telescope in her hand, then up at the police, then back down at the telescope, and realized just how suspicious she must have looked.
The flush on her face hadn’t faded, and the smile she hadn’t had time to wipe off still lingered at the corners of her mouth.
“I… I’m… I’m conducting biology research!”
The police officer paused, looked down at the telescope aimed at the elementary school gate, then at her suspicious expression, and silently pulled handcuffs from his belt.
“Ma’am, please come back to the station with us to assist with the investigation.”
“Wait…?!”
***
After the two officers brought her into the Police Station, she was seated on a plastic chair.
Across from her sat a female police officer in her thirties, handling the record-taking.
Beside her was an older middle-aged male police officer, leaning back in his chair with arms crossed over his chest, regarding her with a scrutinizing gaze.
But Nanase Chitose was now a “veteran” hardened by interrogation experience. She knew the most important thing in moments like this was composure—making the other party believe she was a respectable person.
Yes.
When the door swung open, Nanase Chitose was sitting upright, eyes slightly closed, trying to look like an innocent citizen wrongly accused.
“Patrol Chief.”
The female police officer stood and nodded toward the door.
A tall man in plainclothes walked in, phone in hand. His expression wasn’t anger—more like a weary “you again.”
He sat down across from Nanase Chitose, set his phone on the table, and sighed.
“Miss Nanase… this is the third time this month.”
“A misunderstanding.”
Nanase Chitose kept her eyes closed, her tone steady.
“A pure misunderstanding.”
“That’s exactly what you said last time at the high school bridge gate. You said you were doing bird watching.”
“This time it’s biology research.”
The Patrol Chief fell silent for a moment, then let out a heavy breath through his nose.
“Fine. Sit tight and wait. We’ve already contacted your friend.”